Striving for success: assessing the opportunities
Liam F. Heaney
Southern Education and Library Board, Belfast, Northern Ireland
The judicious use of classroom-based assess-ment to inform teaching can raise standards significantly (Department for Education and Employment, 1998).
Setting the scene
Over the last number of years standards in schools have become a major area of debate both in the political arena and in educational circles. Although the question of standards in schools has always been vigorously dis-cussed over the decades, as is evidenced in The Bullock Report,A Language for Life (Bullock, 1975) and The Cockcroft Report, Mathematics Counts(Cockcroft, 1982), the present Government's recent drive to raise standards in literacy and numeracy has taken on an increased sense of urgency. Indeed, the Government has taken the un-precedented step of specifying the standards they expect pupils to achieve by setting national targets for literacy and numeracy. In England these targets are:
. for 80 per cent of 11 year olds, by 2002, to
achieve the standards expected for their age in English, i.e. Level 4 in the National Curriculum tests; and
. for 75 per cent of 11 year olds, by 2002, to
achieve the standards expected for their age in mathematics.
In Northern Ireland the provisional targets for literacy and numeracy for 2002 are:
. 80 per cent of pupils should be working at
Level 4 or above in English and in mathematics; and
. 25 per cent of pupils should be working at
Level 5 or above in English, and 35 per cent in mathematics.
Some would argue that specific targets, such as these, are far ``removed'' from what actually happens in classrooms. Children's learning cannot be measured solely in terms of ``percentage increases''. Moreover, the process of teaching and learning is much more complicated than mere statistics. It is not about percentage increases in production levels or upturns in sales rates, as is the case in industry. Teaching and learning is essen-tially about teachers and children. It is about what happens within the classroom between
the teacher and the children, and much more. It is about teachers developing and extending teaching strategies in order to improve learning and it is about enhancing children's self-confidence and self-esteem.
Over recent years, the procedures of assessment within schools have gained much bad press. Many teachers considered the ``new'' procedures to be unwieldy and bu-reaucratic in the context of the classroom. Clearly, much frustration was caused. How-ever, even though over the years, assessment procedures have been modified and refined, in the light of experience, much work still needs to be done to ensure that assessment procedures are relevant and useful. The benefits and value of assessment for the teacher and for each child must be apparent and must continue to remain a priority. Alongside this must be placed the manage-ability of such procedures for the classroom teacher. All such considerations need to be sensibly and thoughtfully addressed.
In this article, I explore some important issues associated with assessment in schools, particularly in primary schools. My aim is to show that assessment is central to what takes place in schools and more specifically in classrooms. I argue that the various ap-proaches used to assess children in schools enables teachers to become more fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each child within a particular class or year group. This, in turn, assists the teacher to plan and to develop an appropriate programme to devel-op and extend strengths and to address weaknesses. In this context, I will discuss three important areas of assessment in schools, namely, planning, testing and policy development.
From the outset, I will consider how assessment relates to planning for teaching and learning. It is at this stage teachers define clear learning objectives for the var-ious areas of study which they will teach. Second, I will outline some of the tests more widely used by teachers in schools to diag-nose specific difficulties children may have in acquiring literacy and numeracy skills. Third, I will discuss some of the key elements in the development of a school assessment policy.
The International Journal of Educational Management 13/3 [1999] 135±141
#MCB University Press [ISSN 0951-354X] Keywords
Assessment, Planning, Policy, Schools
Abstract
Planning for teaching and learning
Most teachers would strongly argue that a lesson or a series of lessons are more likely to be successful for both teacher and for the child if they are well-planned. Well-planned lessons establish a framework for the teacher and encourage children to be more focused on what they have to do and what they have to achieve. They also enable the teacher to monitor more fully each child's progress in terms of developing understanding and in acquiring specific skills. In this respect, it is useful for the teacher to consider, in the initial stages of planning, three basic ques-tions:
1 What do I want the pupils to know, to do and to understand? These aspects are often referred to as learning outcomes or learning objectives.
2 How am I going to assess this knowledge, these skills and each pupil's understand-ing?
3 What assessment information will I re-cord and how will I rere-cord it?
By answering these questions it is possible and appropriate to develop a more elaborate planning framework. This framework might include;
. identifying learning outcomes/learning
objectives
. deciding on lesson content/teaching and
learning approaches
. setting down the resources that will be
used
. making appropriate links with other
cur-ricular areas/educational themes includ-ing ICT (information and communications technology)
. identifying opportunities for assessment . considering lesson/topic evaluation and
forward planning.
The specific areas cited above are intended to give an appropriate framework and a useful structure to lesson or topic planning and to ensure that lessons have a clear focus. This enables teaching and learning to be more easily managed. Given the above considera-tions it is clear that planning for teaching and learning requires the teacher to be specific about what assessment needs to take place. Planning is thus seen as an integral part of the assessment process.
Assessing, recording and reporting
All teachers would agree that assessment within the classroom context is an ongoing, continuous process. Information about a pupil's progress is gleaned from the many
interactions between the teacher and the child. Black and Wiliam (1998) stress the importance of these interactions by pointing out that ``the dialogue between pupils and a teacher should be thoughtful, reflective, focused to evoke and explore understanding, and conducted so that all pupils have an opportunity to think and to express their ideas'' (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p. 12). This necessarily involves the teacher employing a range of approaches or strategies. These may include the teacher:
. observing children and interacting with
children during lessons or activities;
. questioning and discussing with children,
on a whole class and/or on an individual basis, the work they are carrying out or the work they have completed;
. marking work with children, both orally
and through written comments.
More formal types of assessment may also include end of topic tests and oral and/or written testing of number facts and spelling. However, Patricia Murphy (1994) argues that teachers should employ ``open-ended tasks'' within their teaching ``which allow all chil-dren to express their interests and under-standings'' (Murphy, 1994, p. 191). This approach necessitates interaction between the teacher and the children and is at the heart of teaching and learning in the class-room.
The above are examples of formative assessment and there is growing evidence that this type of assessment has a significant role to play in helping teachers to raise standards within the classroom. Black and Wiliam (1998) again argue that ``for formative assessment to be productive, pupils should be trained in self-assessment so that they can understand the main purposes of their learning and thereby grasp what they need to do to achieve'' (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p. 10). In this respect, children are encouraged to ``assess'' the work they have completed and to consider how it might be improved. This involves children taking responsibility for their own learning and developing indepen-dence.
Summative assessment has a different focus. It is used to establish the overall performance of a child. It is a summary of the child's progress and achievements and it usually occurs at the end of a scheme of work or at the end of a Key Stage. Thus, the completion of Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs) and/or Assessment Units (AUs) by pupils, which are now part of the statutory requirements, enables the teacher to make a judgement about the level a child has attained. In primary schools in England
(SATs) and in Northern Ireland (AUs), a level is determined for each child in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. Schools also record a level for each Attain-ment Target (AT). So for example, in North-ern Ireland, an overall level is recorded for English, along with a level for reading, writing and talking and listening. These are the three attainment targets that make up the English curriculum.
In Northern Ireland, the mathematics cur-riculum comprises five attainment targets, namely, processes, number, measures, shape and space, and handling data. The SATs and AUs used to determine children's perfor-mance or attainment are examples of sum-mative assessments. Both forsum-mative and summative assessments assist the teacher in developing a detailed profile of each child's progress and achievement.
Of course, all observations and questioning sessions within a lesson or over a series of lessons will not be recorded. However, in-formation that is recorded may take a variety of formats. These may include, an observa-tion schedule, a record of children's reading, comments on children's workbooks that identify areas for improvement and the recording of results from standardised tests. This information provides a valuable re-source for the teacher when considering and reporting each child's progress. From a practical standpoint, the recording of assess-ment information must be manageable, use-ful and easily accessible.
From the records that are maintained, schools furnish parents with a report about the progress and achievement of individual children. These records also enable teachers to give examples of how a child has developed specific knowledge, skills and understanding in various areas of the curriculum, at parent interviews. Moreover, when reporting to other teachers such records also provide useful and relevant information. They help to clarify the progress a child has made and they identify areas that need to be addressed.
The following are some examples of as-sessment strategies used by teachers within the classroom:
. Observing children at work, individually,
or in groups.
. Discussing with, listening to and
ques-tioning children, e.g. during a whole class lesson, during a group activity or indivi-dually.
. Listening to children ``talk about'', explain
or describe, for example, what they un-derstand, what they have achieved, what they have read, what they have seen.
. Talking with a child about a piece of
written work undertaken or completed,
including, classwork, homework and tests.
. Children producing a piece using
compu-ter software.
. Setting children a specific task or
assign-ment and encouraging each child to ``think through'' the various stages.
. Involving children in practical work,
in-vestigations and problem solving.
. Analysing children's performance in
standardised tests.
. Determining an attainment ``level'' for a
child in SATs or AUs.
Most would argue that the main aim of assessment is to monitor each child's pro-gress and achievement as they proceed through school. The approaches cited above are some ways of doing this. Arguably, it is by employing a range of approaches to assessment that the teacher is in a better position to plan for teaching and for learning, is more able to develop a profile of each child and consequently can more readily evaluate how successful teaching strategies have been. Figure 1 shows an ``assessment star''. Each point of the star represents a key element in the assessment process. It is a process with which all teachers will be familiar. The purpose is to show that the process is cyclical and continuous in nature and highlights how each element feeds into the next. It is also clear that the monitoring of each child's progress and achievement un-derpins the whole assessment process.
The use of tests in assessment
There are many tests now available that can assist teachers in assessing the needs and performance of children in the classroom. In this section, I will outline some of the more widely used tests that are appropriate in this context. However, in order to select the most appropriate test it is useful to briefly con-sider the main types of test and to identify their specific function. These include, norm referenced, criterion referenced and diag-nostic tests. I give a brief explanation about each of these in turn:
. Norm referenced tests.Norm referenced
tests can be used for the purposes of formative and summative assessment. The information gleaned from such tests is useful for comparing the performance of each child with the national average. They also provide evidence for supporting teacher observations and judgement and can inform future planning.
. Criterion referenced tests.Criterion
refer-enced tests measure what a child can do against a specified set of objectives and
skills. Spelling tests, number facts or table tests and end of topic tests are relevant examples. These tests help the teacher to evaluate what has been learned by the child as a result of teaching and can also inform future planning.
. Diagnostic tests.Diagnostic tests are used
to identify a child's strengths and weak-nesses in a particular area. They may be able to explain why a child is experiencing a specific learning difficulty and they can assist the teacher in evaluating the nature of the problem and how it might be addressed. Future teaching programmes or action plans can be developed from the information obtained from these tests.
As cited above, there is now an extensive range of tests available to teachers in schools. However, they need to be considered care-fully with respect to their usefulness and appropriateness for children within particu-lar year groups. The following is a list of the most widely used tests, including informa-tion about what skills the tests assess and for what age range they are most suitable:
. EYES (Early Years Easy Screening)
NFER/Nelson 1991. Group administered in the first term of Primary 1 (Year 1). Age range 4-5 years. Assessment includes: pencil co-ordination, number skills, oral language skills, visual reading skills and auditory reading skills. Suggests follow-up activities to develop the skill identi-fied.
. The Bury Infant Check NFER/Nelson
1986. Individually administered.
Assessment includes: language skills, learning style, memory, number skills and perceptual motor skills.
. MIST (Middle Infant Screening Test)
NFER/Nelson 1993. Group administered ± Primary 2 or Primary 3 children (Year 2 and 3). Assessment includes: listening skills, letter/sound correspondence, writ-ten vocabulary, blending and senwrit-tence dictation. ``Forward together'' is a follow-up programme involving parents.
. WRAPS (Word Recognition and Phonic
Skills). Hodder & Stoughton 1994. Group administered. Age range 5-8 years (may be used with older children). Assessment includes: word recognition, gives profile of child's strengths and weaknesses in using phonic skills.
. EMDK (Early Mathematics Diagnostic
Kit) NFER/Nelson 1987. Individually ad-ministered. Age range 4-8 years. Assess-ment includes: various areas of
mathematics (number, shape, length, weight, money, time, capacity), memory, representation and foundation (object identification, one-to-one correspondence, perception of colour).
. QUEST NFER/Nelson 1984. Screening and
diagnostic kit which is individually ad-ministered. Age range 7-10 years. Provides an appropriate remedial/support pro-gramme.
. Neale Analysis NFER/Nelson 1988.
Screening and diagnostic test which is individually administered. Age range 6-13 years. Assessment includes: reading at-tainment (uses miscue analysis).
. Group Reading Test 6-12 NFER/Nelson
1985. Assesses word recognition and reading comprehension. No time limit (approximately 30 minutes).
. Group Reading Test 9-14 NFER/Nelson
1990. Choice of test format offered: ± a 45-item multiple choice sentence ± a 40-item multiple choice context
comprehension test: missing words supplied for a series of four continuous prose passages. No time limit
(approximately 30 minutes).
. Mathematics 7-12 NFER/Nelson 1984.
Group administered (7 and 8 orally admi-nistered). No time limit (approximately 30 minutes).
. Suffolk Reading Scale NFER/Nelson 1987.
Group administered. Age range 6-13 years. A multiple choice sentence completion test. Three levels/two parallel forms available. Timed (20 minutes).
. Young Group Reading Test Hodder &
Stoughton 1981. Age range 6.5-8.10 years. Word recognition and sentence
Figure 1
The use of tests in assessment
completion. Two parallel forms. Timed (15 minutes).
. Cloze Reading Tests Hodder & Stoughton
1988. Age range 7.6-12.7 years. Tests read-ing comprehension. Timed (35 minutes).
It should be noted at this stage that effective assessment ``must be carried out for specific purposes, using methods suited to those purposes'' (Conner, 1995, p. 1). Thus, it is worth asking a few questions regarding the use of tests:
. What standardised tests are currently
being used and why are they being used?
. How reliable, relevant and manageable
are they?
. How is the information from the tests used
to evaluate the effectiveness of the curri-culum?
. How do they assist with future planning?
Developing an assessment policy
Most would agree that a common approach to assessment within a school is of benefit both to the child and to the teacher. A collective approach ensures that there is continuity and coherence, and in the long term, it may greatly enhance the confidence of all those involved. An agreed policy, which is concise yet comprehensive, is perhaps the best way to achieve a clear and consistent approach to assessment in the school context. Nonethe-less, it should be stressed that there is no one, conclusive framework for such a policy. This will very much depend on the procedures already in place and on the philosophy and professional preference of the principal, the teachers and of course the Board of Gover-nors within a school. However, the following key areas offer some guidance for developing an assessment policy. These areas include:
. Identifying the school's aims and purposes
for assessment,e.g. to monitor progress and achievement, to enhance the self-confidence and self-esteem of pupils, to inform pupils, parents and teachers about progress, to assist teachers with future planning? Four or five specific aims and purposes are more readily adhered to and achieved.
. Agreed approaches to assessmentas
iden-tified for each year group, e.g. reading record maintained throughout the school, weekly spelling and number tests admi-nistered and recorded Year 3 to Year 7, standardised maths test administered and results maintained Year 3 to Year 7.
. Reporting to parents± an agreed format for
reporting to parents should be put in place and the times for the issue of reports and for parent interviews should be included.
. Reporting to other teachers± a yearly
record might be used to record key aspects of each child's progress and achievement. Samples of children's work might also be retained. An important point, in this regard, is that whatever system is agreed (or already in place) must be informative, useful and above all manageable.
. Homework± many would agree that
homework is an ongoing part of assess-ment. In most instances, it is used to reinforce the concepts and skills that have been introduced during class lessons. It is also a means of encouraging children to develop good work habits. These points, as well as others relating to the amount of time that should be spent on homework, at the various year group levels, should be included.
. Summative approaches to assessment± a
brief outline of the school's involvement in statutory assessment is useful and relevant.
. Pupil involvement in assessment± in many
schools, children are now encouraged to think about their strengths and to consider the aspects of their learning with which they need assistance. Setting tar-gets, establishing how the quality of their work can be improved, serves to show children that they have a responsibility for their own learning. This encourages pupil self-assessment and develops inde-pendence. Some targets might include:
. improving the standard of handwriting
in the next piece of written work produced,
. reducing the number of spelling errors
in a piece of writing,
. reading a sentence/a paragraph/a
chapter fluently from a novel,
. presenting the results of a science
experiment/or an investigation to others clearly.
Black and Wiliam (1998) maintain that ``opportunities for pupils to express their understanding should be designed into any piece of teaching, for this will initiate the interaction whereby assessment aids learning'' (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p. 11). In this respect, children are encouraged to think about what they have done and what they need to do to improve.
. Reviewing our procedures± all policies are
subject to review. Therefore, it is helpful to include a brief comment about when the policy will be reviewed and who will be involved.
Of course, a policy should be a working document. It is of little use sitting on a shelf or stored in a drawer. Skelton and Playfoot
(1995) point out that ``policies are a negotiat-ing tool with which the staff of a school can move towards greater coherence and con-sensus about the important responsibilities they have and come to an agreement about what constitutes good practice'' (Skelton and Playfoot, 1995, p. 57). A school policy is about action. It is about what happens in practice within a school. Therefore, it requires the involvement and the commitment of every-one within the school for it to be carried through effectively.
Concluding comments
This article discussed in detail three key areas that form an integral part of assess-ment in schools, specifically primary schools. The areas discussed related to planning, testing and policy development. The main aim was to identify some of the more important issues associated with assessment in schools and to offer some suggestions as to how they might be addressed.
Assessing the opportunities is about pro-viding effective assessment procedures in the classroom. This essentially involves both formative and summative approaches. How-ever, as I have shown, there is increasing evidence to show that formative assessment, the daily interactions between the teacher and the pupils about their learning within the classroom context, is crucially significant in raising standards. As was indicated, Black and Wiliam (1998) from their recent research, argue that formative assessment offers a means whereby standards of learning could be improved. Furthermore, Patricia Murphy (1996) concludes that ``the evidence emerging from the UK about the influence of good teacher assessment is that it dramatically alters both teachers' and learners' under-standings rendering both more effective'' (Murphy, 1996, p. 192). Consequently, it is imperative that effective assessment strate-gies are developed and extended within the classroom. How might this be done?
Well, for assessment to be effective within the classroom it is important to ensure that:
. The aims and purposes of assessment are
clearly understood by all.
. Agreed approaches to assessment are
established.
. Assessment is seen as an integral part of
planning.
. Clear outcomes are established in terms of
what we want the children to know, to do and to understand.
. Informative, relevant and manageable
records are maintained.
. Each child's contribution is valued and is
seen as an integral part of the process of teaching and learning.
. Children are encouraged to be involved in
self-assessment ± how they might improve the quality of their work.
. Approaches to assessment are reviewed,
with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning ± encourages self-evaluation and self-reflection.
We can all strive for success, provided that we have a clear idea of where we are going, what we want to achieve and what we need to do to get there. Employing carefully planned assessment strategies in the classroom offers opportunities for us to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all children. It is our role to manage it effectively.
References
Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998),Inside the Black Box,King's College, London.
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Further reading
Barrs, M. and Johnson, G. (1993),Record Keeping in the Primary School,Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Booth, T., Swann, W., Masterton, M. and Potts, P. (Eds) (1992a),Learning for All 1: Curricula for Diversity in Education,Routledge, London. Booth, T., Swann, W., Masterton, M. and Potts, P.
(Eds) (1992b),Learning for All 2: Policies for Diversity in Education, Routledge, London. Bourne, J. (Ed.) (1994),Thinking through Primary
Practice, Routledge in association with The Open University, London and New York. Brown, G.A. and Wragg, E.C. (1993),Questioning,
Routledge, London.
Clemson, D. and Clemson, W. (1991),The Really Practical Guide to Primary Assessment, Stan-ley Thornes, Cheltenham.
Clift, P., Weiner, G. and Wilson, E. (1981),Record Keeping in the Primary School,Macmillan, London.
Dearing, R. (1994),The National Curriculum and its Assessment,NCC/SEAC, London. Department of Education and Science (1988),
National Curriculum Task Group on Assess-ment and Testing: A Report,HMSO, London. Department of Education for Northern Ireland
(1998),School Improvement: The Northern Ireland Programme,The Stationery Office, Northern Ireland.
Desforges, C. (1989),Testing and Assessment, Cassell, London.
Donaldson, M. (1963),A Study of Children's Thinking,Tavistock, London.
Donaldson, M. (1978),Children's Minds, Collins/ Fontana, Glasgow.
Drummond, M.J. (1993),Assessing Children's Learning,David Fulton Publishers Ltd, Lon-don.
Dunne, E. and Bennett, N. (1994),Talking and Learning in Groups,Routledge, London. Fisher, R. (1990),Teaching Children to Think,
Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Gipps, C. (1994),Beyond Testing: Towards a Theory of Educational Assessment, Falmer Press, London.
Grieve, R. and Hughes, M. (1990),Understanding Children,Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Harlen, W. (1994),Enhancing Quality in Assess-ment,Paul Chapman, London.
Heaney, L.F. (1994a), ``Continuous monitoring: an approach'',The International Journal of Edu-cational Management,Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 33-6. Heaney, L.F. (1994b), ``Managing assessment in the classroom'',The International Journal of Educational Management,Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 9-13.
Hopkins, D. (1985),A Teacher's Guide to Class-room Research,Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
Howe, M.J.A. (1991),A Teacher's Guide to the Psychology of Learning,Basil Blackwell, London.
Mitchell, C. and Koshy, V. (1993),Effective Teacher Assessment,Hodder & Stoughton, London. Open University (1991),E623: Assessment and the
Primary Curriculum, The Open University, Milton Keynes.
Perera, K. (1984),Children's Writing and Reading: Analysing Classroom Language, Basil Black-well, Oxford.
Pimm, D. (1992),Mathematics, Teachers and Children,Hodder & Stoughton, London. Pollard, A. and Bourne, J. (Eds) (1994),Teaching
and Learning in the Primary School, Routle-dge in association with The Open University, London and New York.
Schoen, D. (1983),The Reflective Practitioner, Basic Books, New York.
Shipman, M. (1987),Assessment in Primary and Middle Schools,Croom Helm, London. Sutton, R. (1990), ``Issues for teachers in
imple-menting national curriculum geography'', in Lambert, D. (Ed.),Teacher Assessment and National Curriculum Geography, Assessment and Examinations Working Group of the Geography Association, Sheffield.
Wiliam, D. and Black, P. (1996), ``Meanings and consequences: a basis for distinguishing for-mative and sumfor-mative functions of assess-ment'',British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 537-48.
Wood, D. (1988),How Children Think and Learn, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Woods, P. (1994), ``The agenda for educational measurement'' in Nutall, D. (Ed.),Assessing Educational Achievement,Falmer Press, Lon-don.
Woods, P. (1996),Contemporary Issues in Teaching and Learning,Routledge in association with The Open University, London and New York. Wragg, E.C. (1993),Class Management,Routledge,
London and New York.
Wragg, E.C. (1994),An Introduction to Classroom Observation,Routledge, London and New York.
Wragg, E.C. and Brown, G.A. (1993),Explaining, Routledge, London.
